Transcript Research Finance - Aston University

Research Finance
Post-award Finance team
What do we do in the post-award
team?
• Following confirmation of new awards we liaise with
colleagues in RSO to set up Research projects on Finance
system.
• Provide notification of new project codes to Academic PI’s
to commence activity/expenditure on projects.
• Liaise with HR and recruiting managers for staff
appointments and contract extensions funded by projects.
• Produce monthly budget reports to PI’s and respond to any
finance-related queries.
• Produce claims for income from external funders.
• Arrange/manage project audits as required eg. EC grants.
• Project closure – final expenditure statements/reporting.
Who is in the team and primary
contact points for each School
• Research Finance Manager – Matt Cooper ([email protected])
or tel ext 3774
• ABS – Jabar Sadiq ([email protected]) or tel ext 4938
• EAS – Lisa Brown ([email protected]) or tel ext 4547
• LHS – Adrian Deverell ([email protected]) or tel ext 4364
• LSS – Mahmuda Khanom ([email protected]) or tel ext 4453
• We are located in the central Finance office on the 7th floor of
the main building (situated next to HR and Estates), please
come and visit us!
What happens when an award is made
to the University?
• Once an application decision has been reached by
the funder organisation the University should
seek to formalise arrangements as follows:• Grants from Research Councils, charities and
other UK funders – should receive a grant ‘offer’
letter with associated terms and conditions for
the University to review/accept.
• Awards from EC or UK Industry funders – should
be covered by appropriate contracts covering
project deliverables, intellectual property rights
and payment arrangements etc…
Setting up new project accounts
• Once a grant has been formally accepted or a
contract signed by all parties an award file is
passed from RSO to Research Finance team.
• Research Finance team then set up a new
project account, often referred to as a ‘job
code’.
• This code is then confirmed by e-mail to the
Academic PI for the project.
Starting work on projects
• Each funder has different rules to adhere to, so it is important
to understand these rules before commencing any activity on
a project.
• For example Research Councils UK allow up to 3 months to
start a project from it’s planned start date, KTP projects 6
months from the date of offer letter, and EC varies dependant
on funding scheme.
• Also, Research Councils UK and many charities allow costs
relating to recruitment to be incurred prior to the ‘actual
project start date’, providing they do not pre-date any grant
offer letter.
• EC funding however will generally not support the costs of
recruitment of new staff, with some exceptions for certain
funding schemes.
Aston University procedure on starting
work on projects
• Once the University has received written
notification of a successful project award, you
may begin the staff recruitment process subject
to the particular funder rules.
• However no offer of employment can be made to
an individual until the formal grant acceptance or
fully signed contract is in place.
• Note: the time lapse between notification and
contracts being signed will vary according to the
funder, and specific advice can be sought from
RSO on likely timescales.
Recruitment process
• Following notification of a successful project award, the
PI or recruiting manager should complete a ‘recruitment
authorisation form’
• Recruitment authorisation forms are available from
either your School RSO contact or HR advisor.
• Form designed to capture the necessary information to
place a job advert such as appointment dates, full or
part-time post, grade/salary level, source of funding as
well as School and Finance approvals.
• Note: Please allow sufficient time for adverts,
interviewing, notice periods, and potential delays due to
obtaining visas to avoid issues with starting projects on
time.
Recruitment continued (2)…
• Research Finance team can open a new project job
code in advance of formal grant acceptance or fully
signed contracts, providing a written award notification
has been received and there is a need to recruit staff.
• The project job code should be provided on the
recruitment authorisation form. This ensures the
subsequent staff costs are charged to the project
account correctly.
• Once the form has been completed and approved
within the School it should be passed to a member of
the Research Finance team to check and approve
details against the particular funding arrangements.
Recruitment continued (3)…
• Once the recruitment authorisation form has
been approved by Finance it will be passed to HR
to place advertisement as appropriate.
• The post advert will include further particulars
such as closing date for applications and an
indication that offer of employment to successful
candidate can only be made once funding
agreement is in place.
• Interview shortlists are confirmed after closing
date and review of all submitted applications.
Recruitment continued (4)…
• Interviews arranged and panel agree on
appointable candidate(s) with informal offer of
appointment then made.
• Formal offer of contract then sent out by HR
team to successful candidate to confirm
appointment subject to satisfactory references.
• Further specific advice on the staff recruitment
process can be obtained from your School HR
advisor.
Starting spend on projects
• Once you have received notification of a project
job code from the Research Finance team you can
commence spending.
• For projects where staff are to be employed the
first expenditure will be recruitment costs,
subject to the funder rules, followed by the salary
and employment costs of appointed staff.
• Staff salary, employers National Insurance and
Pension costs are automatically charged to
project codes via the HR/Payroll systems.
Purchasing
• Consider list of University approved suppliers
(available via staff intranet) or contacting
purchasing team for specific guidance
[email protected] if you can’t use any
existing approved supplier.
• Each School have administrators who can assist
with raising purchase orders to suppliers.
• All purchases made must adhere to the University
procurement guidelines (available via staff
intranet), and the following guidance should be
noted...
Purchasing (2)…
• You should always seek to obtain best value for money.
• For goods and services < £10,000 in value, at least one
written supplier quotation must be obtained before any
purchase order placed.
• For order values between £10,001 and £25,000, at least
three written supplier quotations must be obtained as well
as a ‘Purchase justification form’ being completed.
• For order values > £25,000 specific assistance must be
sought from the central procurement team as contracts will
need to be drawn up with supplier(s).
• ERDF funded projects have to comply with strict
procurement rules, and all original documentation has to
be retained.
Purchasing (3)…
• For order values > £50,000 advice should be sought from
the procurement team.
• Large value purchases above the EU threshold, currently
approx. £173k, must adhere to EU procurement guidelines
and follow a formal competitive tendering process.
• Sufficient planning time should be allowed to avoid delays
which may impact on the project delivery.
• Suppliers should address invoice(s) to Aston University,
following delivery of goods/services, and quote our official
p/order number on their invoice.
• Further information is available via the staff intranet or
specific guidance can be sought from the purchasing team
([email protected]).
Reclaiming project expenses
• All staff expense claims must be made in accordance with
University expenses guidance available at:http://www.aston.ac.uk/staff/hr/pay-reward/payroll/staffexpenses/
• A staff expense claim form must be completed by the claimant and
authorised within the School, then presented to the Payroll office
within the central HR team (7th floor main building).
• All expense claims must be supported by appropriate receipts, and
submitted in a timely manner, otherwise payment may be delayed
or claims rejected.
• The expense claim should state the project job code such that
payments are then charged to the relevant project account.
Understanding Full Economic costs
• Many UK funders accept that Universities prepare
costs for Research projects using the Full
Economic costing (fEC) methodology.
• fEC represents the ‘true’ costs of carrying out a
Research project and includes the following;
• Directly Incurred – costs which are additional as a
result of delivering a project eg. Research staff
appointments, equipment purchases, Travel &
Subsistence expenses and Consumable items.
Full Economic costs (2)…
• Directly Allocated – costs already borne by the University
and apportioned back to projects such as Academic
Investigator time devoted to Research projects, School
Technical staff and Estates (space/lab) charges.
• Indirect costs – University infrastructure costs (or
Overheads) such as provision of central support services
(RSO/Finance/HR/Legal/ISA) and utility charges.
• Your School Research Development Manager within RSO
(pre-award team) will assist you in calculating Full
Economic costs for project proposals.
• All contributions from projects towards Directly Allocated
and Indirect costs are credited to the relevant School with a
share being made available to the Academic PI...
Personal Academic Support Accounts
(PASA)
• Aston offers a funding scheme to support Academic Investigators
on the basis of Research grants providing contributions towards
University Overheads.
• A PASA can be opened for all Academic staff employed on
permanent contracts, and who have been awarded external
Research funding providing such Overhead contributions.
• The account will be credited with a 10% share of any project
contributions towards University Overheads (Estates and Indirect
costs) up to a maximum of £10,000 in any one financial year.
• Note: any income held within a PASA remains the property of the
University and spend against such accounts must be authorised by
the School.
• Further information about this scheme can be found on the staff
intranet at: http://www.aston.ac.uk/staff/finance/guidance/pasa/
How can monies in a PASA be spent?
• The account can be used to support personal Research
expenses, where external funding cannot be used, on
expenses such as;
• Attendance at conferences/networking events.
• Travel, subsistence and hospitality which cannot be
directly covered from the project budget.
• Purchases of equipment for Research eg. laptops,
printers etc.
• Subscriptions and membership fees.
• Any other support towards Research activities as
agreed with the Executive Dean of School.
What Research funders will pay for
• Whilst many UK funders accept fEC for the calculation
of our project costs, very few will pay 100% of fEC.
• For example Research Councils and UK government
typically pay for 80% of fEC, with the University
expected to cover the remaining 20% of costs.
• Charities each vary in their funding rules, with most
only covering the Directly Incurred costs of any project.
• UK Industry funding levels vary and ‘pricing’ decisions
should be considered by the applicant and the School,
supported by RSO or BPU colleagues.
• Funders each have different rules about what may be
treated as ‘eligible’ costs.
EC funding
• EC funding varies dependant on the award scheme and
the type of project activity.
• Under Framework Programme FP7 the EC allowed
Universities to claim for all eligible Directly Incurred
and Allocated costs plus a contribution of 60% towards
Indirect costs.
• Research & Technological Development activities were
funded at 75% of eligible costs, Demonstration
activities funded at 50% of eligible costs and
Management/Other activities funded at 100% of
eligible costs – it was a complex mix!
EC funding (2)…
• Marie-S-Curie grants are funded on the basis
of flat rates defined by the EC, subject to
individual Researcher experience and personal
circumstances eg. marital status.
• Horizon 2020 is the next EC funding stream
following FP7 and we can typically expect to
receive 100% of all eligible Directly Incurred
and Allocated costs plus a contribution of 25%
towards Indirect costs.
How does the University receive
Research Income?
• The Research Finance team are responsible for making all claims for
income from our Research funders.
• Research Councils UK will pay the University on a quarterly basis
following the actual start date of a project being confirmed.
• Some funders will require us to claim for ‘actual’ costs incurred,
whereas others (typically UK Industry) may accept an invoice for a
fixed amount subject to satisfactory progress on a project.
• Where a funder requires a claim for payment (Invoice) to be sent
against a grant/contract, the Research Finance team will produce
this in accordance with the specific funding terms and in liaison
with the PI as relevant.
• Most funders will expect to receive a final expenditure statement at
the end of a project, and the final payment may be withheld subject
to all project deliverables having been met.
Project audit requirements
• Certain Research funding, mainly EC projects,
may require an independent external audit to be
carried out at certain reporting periods during
the project life.
• These audits are arranged and managed by the
Research Finance team who will liaise with the
Academic PI as necessary.
• The auditor will seek to inspect all supporting
evidence in relation to claims made for funding,
such as…
Project audit requirements (2)…
• Staff costs – the auditor will inspect contracts of
employment, payroll evidence and timesheet
records as appropriate.
• Other Direct costs – evidence such as supplier
invoices, expense claims and supporting receipts
will need to be made available.
• Following the audit visit a report will be provided
to the funder outlining any observations and
exceptions to the funding guidelines as noted by
the auditor.
Project audits – Staff timesheets
• Almost all EC funded projects require staff employed
on projects to maintain/record timesheets.
• Timesheet templates are available from the Research
Finance team upon request.
• Staff time should be recorded to show actual hours
spent on various projects and activities up to a normal
working day (7 hours 20 mins for most staff).
• Timesheets must also evidence absences due to annual
leave, sickness or public holidays, as EC funding only
supports ‘productive hours’ on projects.
Monthly project reports
• The Finance Awards Management system
(Agresso) will each month automatically send a
budget report to Academic PI’s for every live
project account in their name.
• The report will show basic information such as
who the funder is, project title, as well as start
and end dates as they have been recorded in the
system.
• These reports have recently been re-designed
(Sept 2014) and are intended to provide the PI
with the following information...
Monthly project reports (2)…
• Summary budget position – showing actual expenditure
incurred to date, plus any purchase commitments outstanding
and the balance remaining to be spent over the remainder of
the award.
• Details of expenditure transactions incurred during the
previous month. It is important Academic PI’s carefully check
that expenses have been appropriately recorded against their
project accounts.
• A list of all currently outstanding purchase commitments ie.
orders awaiting goods delivery or payment of supplier
invoices.
• Any queries or comments about these reports should be
discussed with your School Research Finance contact person.
Changes in grant circumstances
• During the life of a project it may be necessary to contact
the funder informing them of changes to the project
delivery such as difficulties with recruitment, breaks in staff
appointment or transfer of Investigators to another
institution.
• Please contact Research Finance who can liaise with RSO
colleagues and advise you on the appropriate course of
action.
• Requests for project extensions are generally only accepted
by funders where there have been unavoidable delays in
recruitment, breaks in appointment or circumstances
beyond usual control eg. Long-term staff absence. Any
extension request should be made before the current end
date of the project.
Projects approaching their end date
• Using the monthly project reports, PI’s should monitor their
spending against budgets and always seek to maximise the use of
external funding available.
• It is recommended that PI’s contact the Research Finance team
between 3-6 months ahead of the project end date to discuss
current budget position and final reporting requirements.
• Note 1: nearly all funders will expect the final costs on a project to
be actually incurred before the official project end date. It may
therefore be necessary to consider the timing of any dissemination
activities eg. final conference, to avoid issues with reclaiming
related expenses.
• Note 2: specifically Research Councils UK do not allow the purchase
of any equipment items in the last 6 months of a project unless you
have their prior approval granted.
Account closure process
• Within 1 month of project end date the Research
Finance team will contact the Academic PI to discuss
any final expenses/commitments and reporting
requirements with a view to closing down the project
account.
• Within 2-3 months of project end date all final cost
reporting will be submitted to the funder, and the
Research Finance team will then review the account
with a view to closing it down.
• No Research account will be closed by the Research
Finance team without first having had dialogue with
the PI for the project.
Important information to consider
• Getting the project costing correct at the outset is
crucial as this will set the budget for any
subsequent award.
• Understand the funder terms and conditions, in
particular with regards to eligible costs and
reporting requirements.
• Check monthly reports carefully.
• Liaise with Research Finance team with any
project-related queries, and…
• If you’re unsure please seek advice.
Any Questions?
Matt Cooper, Research Finance Manager.